This blog is a great opportunity to share ideas about ways to
transform schooling as we know it, to help all students realise their
talents, passions and dreams. Be great to hear from anyone out there! Feel free to add a comment to Bruce's Blog and enter e-mail to receive postings

The latest educational bandwagon is that all
children should be taught how to code computers, although exactly what this is
supposed to achieve isn’t clearly spelled out.

“But here’s the thing; not every kid wants to be a computer
scientist. Not every kid wants to work with a computer. Not every
kid wants to stare at a screen, nor do something with technology. Did we
forget that in our eagerness to jump on the coding wagon?”

“For what it’s worth, and in case it might be of any interest to others, here are, in no particular order, some of the most common arguments : I
hear made both in support of, and against, educational coding initiatives.”

“Instead of proclaiming the virtue that apparently derives from
forswearing technology – as if academic rigour and using computers were somehow
antithetical – wouldn’t we be better off by remaining open to the notion that
using technology, in certain circumstances, may actually contribute to improved
teaching and learning? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to develop teachers’ expertise
so that they are able to make discerning use of whatever technology may be most
helpful at any given time for any given purpose?”

“The focus on test scores is vital to the neoliberal vision of
education. It is what enables standardization and hence accountability across
the system. If outcomes in the form of test scores are what counts, then it
becomes easy to compare one student with another, one class with another, one
school with another and one state with another. And test-based accountability
has now become a truly global phenomenon, shaping local and national
educational priorities and policies.”

“True, these students no longer require carrots or sticks. They don’t
need discipline because they’re self-disciplined. . . in a way that’s
disturbing. Their motivation is internal, but it sure as hell isn’t intrinsic.
And that key distinction would go unnoticed if we had just asked whether they
had internalized certain values rather than inquired about the nature of that
internalization.”

“Until we are capable of putting our children's needs in front of
anything else, we will continue to slip down the educational league table. It
has nothing to do with better teachers. It's got everything to do with
protecting our children from politicians.”

“By the late
sixties, in England, flexible school buildings were being specifically designed
to allow a varied combination of individual and group work as well as for class
and inter-class activities. And in the 70s ( inspired by American school
critics such as John Holt) an open education movement started which culminated
in the development of open plan schools.”

“Sir Ken Robinson’s
inspirational talk at the RSA Conference called “Changing Paradigms” has
made its way around the education circles through different media. This
animated version of the speech, taking us through the speaker’s colorful prose
with illustrations, has made even more of an impact.”

We have lost so much over the past 50 years. We need to return
leadership back to creative teachers.

“It was in the sixties when creative classroom teachers working
within a shared educational philosophy were the real leaders. In contrast to
all the structural changes that have happened since the advent of Tomorrow's
Schools the role of the teacher has been neglected. There are some, such as
Professor Frank Crowther, University of Queensland, who says that, since the
1970s, the professional respect for teachers has diminished.”

“Imagine a school where every child would see
themselves as an investor in their own learning. Older children would
frequently coach and mentor younger children. Those who were more advanced in a
subject would help those lagging behind. Children would help teachers design
learning programmes, their parents would be parties to these discussions .The
children would see it as their responsibility to learn in their own time,
often using online tools provided by the school.”

“Dr John Edwards based his presentation, the final one for the
conference, on a question his wife had asked him when he returned after
teaching his graduate students.

She asked him, 'What have you stolen from your students today?’’

And..

“The poem is worth a read because it clearly makes the distinction
between an antiquated transmission style of teaching (which is still all too
common) and what is now required if we are to develop all students as
'confident life long learners', the 'seekers, users,and creators of their own
knowledge', that our revised curriculum asks of us.”

“Six years ago, a team of educational researchers shocked New York
state with clear statistical evidence of widespread manipulation of test scores
on the high school exit exams, or Regents Examinations. The analysis, which
formed the basis for an investigative report in the Wall Street Journal and
sparked major reforms by New York state, showed that test graders were
artificially lifting the scores for 40 percent of the students who had fallen
just short of passing.”

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

In 1932 a report on primary education in England recommended that 'the primary curriculum should be thought of in terms of

Published 1964

activity and experience rather than knowledge to be acquired '.

It was a revolutionary idea as schools at the time were very traditional and streamed by ability as they were in New Zealand..

After World War Two many teachers, returning from the war, were resolved to break down the pre-war segregated and fragmented education. As well many city children had been shifted to rural areas where they learnt from their new environment.

Post war many schools developed child centred learning based on providing such an enriching environment and, within this framework, the basic skills were taught not as an end in themselves but as a means of extending activities and fostering self expression in the fullest meaning of the term. Such schools valued the learners own experience and promoted the child's curiosity and independence. Each child was to be treated as a unique personality with great potential and creating environments to achieve this was now the function of the school.

Perhaps NZs most well known educator was Elwyn Richardson but there were many other teachers - most often in rural schools - who were developing exciting similar language arts and integrated programmes.

The art advisers, under the leadership of Gordon Tovey played an important role in identifying and encouraging such teachers.

Elwyn Richardson saw his class as a community of artists and scientists exploring their personal world and their immediate environment. It was what some call a holistic approach to learning. I worked with a group of teachers in Taranaki along similar lines - our special feature was the development of room displays that celebrated the achievements of the students. Reading ( the language arts ) and maths played supportive roles and eventually all ability grouping was done away with - students being helped at point of need. The discovery programme was central in such rooms.

By the late sixties, in England, flexible school buildings were being specifically designed to allow a varied combination of individual and group work as well as for class and inter-class activities. And in the 70s ( inspired by American school critics such as John Holt) an open education movement started which culminated in the development of open plan schools.

When asked what giant step forward American schools needed to make towards a better tomorrow Holt replied:'It would be to let every child be the planner, director, and assessor of his own education, to allow and encourage him , with the inspiration and guidance of more experienced and expert people and as much help as he asked for, to decide what he had to learn, when he is to learn it, how he is to learn it, and how well he is learning it. It would be to make our schools......a resource for free and independent learning where everyone in the community, of whatever age, could use as much , or as little, as he wished.'

John Holt eventually gave up on American education ever being transformed and became a 'de-schooler'. He wanted ( along with others) to make classrooms a very different place. He wanted all students to gain a genuine sense of, not just their own identities, but also their own worth and felt that schools did more harm than good for far too many students.

A Modern Learning Environment

This bring me up to the current Modern School Environment, or Innovative Teaching Practices, movements.I am not sure how they will be developed by teachers other than those who already have an open approach to education. Time will tell but the flexibility of such buildings are a great improvement on the limitations of self contained classrooms - sometimes disparagingly described as 'single cell classrooms'.

'One great example of this kind of connected, relevant learning activity was a school-wide learning project that focused on ringforts.27 Ringforts are circular earthen mounds built as houses in the Bronze Age, which have long been associated with the presence of fairies. There are 204 ringforts in the school’s parish and many of the students were interested in them, felt connected to them through their own ancestry, and chose them as a focal point for learning. So students aged eight to 12 studied the history of ringforts, including what people ate and wore when they lived in them; they visited them with an archaeologist; they mapped the forts using mathematical models; they built their own version of a ringfort in their school; they wrote a script and acted it out in their own film; and they travelled to heritage meetings throughout the country and gave presentations. Ringforts became a meaningful focal point for the achievement of multiple curricular learning goals making learning come alive for the students. When teachers and students connect the learning it is something that is natural, instinctive and embedded in their aspirations and their world.'Such learning experiences were once a feature of New Zealand schools.
I have also watched a number of u-tube videos about Modern Learning Environments and one speaker, Larry Rosenstock, particularly really impressed me. He has several u-tube videos to watch - one features a visit by Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey!

Larry Rosenstock - philosopher principal New Teach High

I liked that he was an ex carpenter ( and law school graduate) and commented that through making things as a carpenter you can integrate all areas of learning. Making things ( project based learning)is a feature of High Tech High School - the information technology, and more traditional machine tools, are very much means to an end.

Even the school building is a converted air force building that has been adapted for educational purposes but once you get inside and see what the students are creating that is a revelation.

Larry strongly believes in not segregating students and believes by

Testing bridge strength

working together students are able to help each other.Even the school's name is a misnomer. There is no courses on technology and Larry says that 'it's a liberal arts school in disguise.... technology are tools to help students achieve their creations'. 'When you know how to use them you can make things that demonstrate to others what you can do'.

Full of student creativity

The school is based around the concept of Project Based Learning (PBL). Larry says that 'this is a place where you are going to find out who you are' which is the essence of personalized learning. A place to discover and amplify whatever talents students have.

World wide there is an emphasis on STEM ( Science. Maths , Engineering and Technology) but High Tech High believes this is to 'the detriment of the arts'. The school obviously covers a STEM curriculum but it is 'loaded up with design and the arts... art is integral' to all they do.

Larry's philosophy is clear. He shares that he 'supported himself through university through being a carpenter. When you are a carpenter you are making things. It is really easy to put in the maths. You can study the world through anything.'

Part of student project

Everything the students do is documented and students can demonstrate their achievements. The students, says Larry ' are doing what adults do - students have a purpose and a reason.' 'The maths, the biology, the arts are packed into projects'. Literacy and numeracy requirements are 'wed into all activities'. I loved seeing all the creative art around the school.Rosenstock quotes John Dewey, ' children are people, they grow into tomorrow only as they live today'. High Tech High very much follows Dewey's experiential learn through action -a curriculum based on real experiences .

He continues that 'High Tech High 'doesn't look like a school - it is more an incubator to develop students' ideas'.'The school is designed to exhibit students work - it's about curating students ideas.'.. 'Having kids present their work gives us a benefit - and it gives student the opportunity to evaluate their own work and to learn from others to get ideas for future improvement'. Students presentation he calls 'stand and deliver' where students explain, demonstrate and defend what they have developed. Assessment is central to group projects and this includes individual contributions to projects.

Displays of work feature finished products and process. At High Tech High peer pressure is used as a positive way to encourage other students. All students graduate.

Carpenter days

The school is based on respect for the students - 'if you treat them as adults they will behave as adults'.Education, Larry believes, is the one intervention that plays a positive role in our society.Teachers need to be 'evocative - midwives to students' ideas' Larry believes a good teacher 'is recognized by the sophistication of their students' work. He wants his teachers to replicate the 'memorable experiences of their own time at school.' He wants teachers to 'bring what they do outside of school into their classes. Bring it it in.Integrate it. Connect what you love with the subjects you teach. Then you will be moire passionate'.'Students learn rigour by being in the company of a passionate adult who by doing inquiry in their subject invite students to participate.'It seems MLEs are more about passionate learning than technology or buildings.

Larry 'wants kids behaving like an actress, like a scientist, behaving like a documentary maker, a photographer, a journalist- trying out new roles and sampling new identities.'

Student project

I kept thinking of the work of Elwyn Richardson, the work of UK pioneer teachers, and the work we did in school in Taranaki. Same philosophy different times.And I thought it was a great message for those keen to develop innovative teaching practices - with or without modern school buildings.

This paper addresses the issue of the new pedagogy, which is central to the future agenda. The authors show that the new pedagogy is based on a learning partnership between and among students and teachers that taps into the intrinsic motivation of students and teachers alike

“The truth is that there is no single “creative type.” There are
many “creative types” who offer unique gifts that can transform learning
and spark innovation. The more we recognize the diversity of the creative
mindset, the better we become at integrating creativity into the culture and
curriculum of the classroom. In the process, we not only thrive in our creative
identity but we honor the creativity in our students.”

Art and the Mind’s Eye: How Drawing Trains You to See the World More
Clearly and to Live with a Deeper Sense of Presence

Some Ruskin to challenge your thinking.

“Drawing, indeed, transforms the secret passageway between the eye
and the heart into a two-way

.When you look and /draw you really see and ask questions

street — while we are wired to miss the vast
majority of what goes on around us, learning to draw rewires us to see the
world differently, to love it more intimately by attending to and coming to
cherish its previously invisible details.”

“Former schoolteacher and current scholar and author, Finnish Pasi
Sahlberg, wins the LEGO Prize 2016 for his work to improve the quality of
children’s education worldwide. Hanne

Rasmussen, CEO of the LEGO Foundation,
presented the prize at the annual LEGO Idea Conference. The prize is
accompanied by a cash award of USD 100,000 to support further development of
quality in children’s learning.”

Children should learn mainly through play until age of eight, says
Lego

“A lack of understanding of the value of play is prompting parents
and schools alike to reduce it

as a priority, says Hanne Rasmussen, head of the
Lego Foundation. If parents and governments push children towards numeracy and
literacy earlier and earlier, it means they miss out on the early play-based
learning that helps to develop creativity, problem-solving and empathy, she
says.”

“We’re simultaneously tired of change, and evaporating as an industry
without it. But that fatigue is important to honor. That so many teachers are
tired of hearing it all isn’t simply proof they need to find new jobs. If a
teacher doesn’t “buy in,” automatically labeling them a non-team player is a problem.
After all, the best teachers often don’t do what they’re told anyway.”

“I do realize that, on paper, there’s no reason a teacher can’t do
what they’re told and be amazing, but think for a moment about the best
teachers you know. Do they do what they’re told, or do they simply do what
needs to be done and navigate any fallout better than everyone else? So
how can you get there?”

What are
Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs) or Modern Learning Environments (MLEs)
really about?

Bruce’s very
thoughtful article about this current trend:

/????????

“Don’t get me
wrong. I believed the open plan schools of the 70s had, and that their recent
iteration MLEs, have great potential to develop ‘new minds for a new millennium’
enabling students, as the New Zealand Curriculum says, able to ‘seek, use and
create their own knowledge’. But, I also believe, that lessons learnt about the
success and failure of the 70s open plan buildings are worth considering; to
quote Edmund Burke ‘Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it’.”

At last something
sensible about Modern Learning Environments: After watching a number of short
video clips about Modern Learning Environments or Innovative Learning
Environments and being less than impressed – all those colourful spaces with
trendy furniture and beanbags and little in depth learning to be seen – it was
great to come across a publication that, if implemented, would add a qualitative
dimension to such environments with its emphasis on problem based teaching.

“Over recent
years, learning has moved increasingly centre stage and for a range of powerful

Time to see beyond the open spaces?

reasons. A primary driver has been the scale of change in our world the rapid
advances in ICT, the shift to economies based on knowledge, and the emphasis on
the skills required to thrive in them. Schools and education systems around the
world are having to reconsider their design and approach to teaching and
learning. What should schooling, teaching and, most especially, learning look
like in this rapidly changing world?”

“As laptops
become smaller and more ubiquitous, and with the advent of tablets, the idea of
taking notes by hand just seems old-fashioned to many students today. Typing
your notes is faster — which comes in handy when there's a lot of information
to take down. But it turns out there are still advantages to doing things the
old-fashioned way.”

“In the past,
we’ve talked about the critical 21st-century skills students need and why. But
what about other digital age skills? What about other useful and practical
abilities to have? These are things that can help build success and enable
lifelong learning. They’re skills students can protect and preserve their
identities with. We’re talking about things that can help them help others
as well.

Under the blanket of digital age skills there are many useful
pursuits. A student’s toolbox will be constantly evolving throughout their
life. The need for newer and newer skills will always be the norm. In the
meantime, consider this list a useful starting point.”

“A number of schools are ‘experimenting’ with
providing the curriculum to their students by means of a series of ‘rich topics’.
This is in response to what they have found is an impossible ask, to cover all
the ‘overcrowded’ curriculum requirements that have developed as a result of
the imposition of too many standardized curriculums. This seems a reasonable if
not a very original idea; having been developed by creative primary teachers in
the sixties and seventies.”

“The book ‘Scientist in the Crib’ comes with high praise from
educationalist. Jerome Bruner who writes, ‘this book is a gem, a really
beautiful combination of scholarship and good sense’.This exciting book
discusses important discoveries about how much babies and young children know
and learn. It argues that evolution designed both adults and children to
naturally teach and learn off each other, and that the drive to learn is our
most important instinct. Very young children, as well as some adults, use much
of the same methods scientists use to learn so much about the world.”

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

An article in the
NZPPF magazine (March 2016) asks, in reference to Modern Learning Environments,
‘are we facing a learning revolution or recycling the “open barns” of the
1970s?’

John Key and Hekia Parata at Pegasus Bay MLE opening.

The authors of the article ‘remember’ open plan classrooms of the 70s and
write that their success ‘depended on
the willingness and capabilities of teachers to work flexibility with
like-minded others’.

Don’t get me wrong. I
believed the open plan schools of the 70s had, and that their recent iteration
MLEs, have great potential to develop ‘new minds for a new millennium’ enabling
students, as the New Zealand Curriculum says, able to ‘seek, use and create
their own knowledge’. But, I also believe, that lessons learnt about the
success and failure of the 70s open plan buildings are worth considering; to
quote Edmund Burke ‘Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it’.

With this in mind I
read, with interest, the article to see what advances have been made in
thinking about how to use such flexible spaces. It seems most of the information
referred to in the OECD
publication, ‘School Redesigned: Towards Innovative Learning Systems 2015’.

article comes from an

After reading the
article several times I am none the wiser.

ILEs , the authors say, are ‘the complete physical pedagogical context
that are capable of evolving and adapting as educational practices evolve and
change’ and that they have ‘great potential for reconceptualising what we
understand about content, resources, learners and teachers’.

Education is now to
be seen as an ‘ecosystem’ rather than an’ isolated event’ and that ‘the current
epoch is definitely not old wine in new bottles’.

Most of the article
is based on perspectives based on interviews of over 200 Primary and

Secondary
principals and, beyond concerns about the remodelling of the physical
environment, there was a clear emphasis on pedagogical concerns.

Principals thinking provided such insights as ‘ I think it is about doing things different
way and having the flexibility to really put the focus back on the learners
…and Innovative learning environments have to start with the pedagogy and what
you are doing with children.’

And evidently ILE schools are not about localised learning
but are to be seen as ‘networks or
ecosystems’….. ‘interactions between a local community of organisms and its
environment.’Other than access to
the World Wide Web there is nothing new in these ideas – except the jargon.
This language is by courtesy of the OECD publications which provide such
phrases as ‘Learning ecosystems are
independent combinations of different species of providers and organisations
playing different roles with learners in differing relationships over time in
varying mixes.’ I am sure that must
be enlightening for schools opening MLE buildings?

An ecological consciousness

Education is about an ‘ecosystem where learning is personalised
across a range of institutions across a range of institutions and spaces …. And
it is a move away from the mind-set of school as a “be-all “and “end all”’. This obviously refers to the idea that with
modern technology learning can occur anywhere, anytime from anyone. This, it
seems, is the ‘learning ecosystem’.
Accessing this ‘ecosystem’ is, according
to the OECD, ‘critical in the building
and sustaining of innovative learning.’ The authors refer to the potential
of the current Investing In School Success (IES) initiative where communities
of schools work together as part of this ‘ecosystem’.
As an aside, as an ex a primary school
science adviser, I am fully are of the idea of everything being connected often
in ways beyond comprehension. We introduced ecological studies in schools from
the mid-sixties.

The authors quote a principal whose ‘ecosystem’, after the
introduction of computers, had a ‘flow on
effect’ altering how the ‘students
can learn and how the teacher has to teach’ which makes one wonder what was
the style of teaching before their introduction? Evidently this ‘ecosystem’
allows ‘personalised learning across a
range of institutions’. After viewing several videos on Modern School
Environments (MLEs) I am left with impressions of spacious buildings and
students using information media but little to show for it. As scepticeducationalist has Kelvin Smythe has quipped they are all too often ‘cathedralsof vacuity’.

As the article
expresses ‘the underlying philosophy for
learning is of paramount’ for success in

ILEs/MLEs but fails to clarify
what this philosophy is. One principal, as part of the research, asks ‘how does this space influence learning?’
The authors add that ‘the critical part
is the learning. It’s not the space’. Another principal adds, ‘space does influence what you can do but
the pedagogy can be utilised in any space’. I presume this means that the
pedagogy can be equally applies to self-contained innovative classrooms?

The ILEs, the article states ‘signal
a profound shift in the nature of schooling’ and that ‘moves to reshape schools into ILEs’ mean we are ‘facing some of the most persuasive shifts
in the education system since Tomorrows Schools in 1989’.

These changes, the authors say, will challenge principals to
‘critically navigate the topography of
proposed change.’ Another principal, who was part of the research, says
that schools need to ‘broker a relational
dynamic and philosophy for 21st century learning’ and adds ‘right, I get the challenge…that it’s all
very well to put in furniture and create an ILE but it’s the practice that
counts… (and he wants) teachers
working in there who have the right philosophy and mind, who like working
together and who like learning together. I think the philosophy is the most important
thing’. Sounds like thoughts expressed in the 1970 when open schools were
established.

To succeed, the authors conclude, ILEs will need ‘structural support’ including ‘targeted support for principals who as
learning leaders empower teachers to also lead and innovate. Pedagogically,
what may need to alter is the philosophy and beliefs held by teachers and
learners, learning and how learning happens’.

The article left me
with more questions than answers - strong on rhetoric but light on reality but
at least I learnt some new vocabulary.

I am left with number of questions:

1.What is the profile of a successful graduate of
an ILE?

2.What would it be like to follow one student
through a day?

3.Ideally what would a day look like to a visitor
after a year’s ‘organic’ change?

4.What are the stages in growth (‘topography of change’) that might occur
as a school develops this new pedagogy/philosophy?

5.What is the best way to utilise the spaces
provided?

6.How will individual student growth be assessed?

7.How ILEs are so different from the best of the
1970s open plan units (the ones that didn’t simply put ‘old wine in new bottles’)?

8.What evidence of in depth student
research/thinking would a visitor observe?

9.What qualities would teachers need to have to be
able to work closely with each other?

10.What would ensure that ILEs do not suffer the
same fate as open plan schools?

11.If personalised learning is a feature of such
‘learning ecosystems’ is there any place for traditional ability grouping and
streaming and, in primary schools, the current over emphasis on literacy and
numeracy programmes that have their genesis in an earlier industrial era?

12.What structures need to be in place to assist
students to make appropriate choices and for teachers to provided assistance if
needed?

communities of scientists and artists working in an environment with a
range motivational displays and a mix of
workshops, science laboratories, artists’ studios and art galleries. With the
powerful information media now available the ideas introduced during the open
education years now have the potential to be realised.

I see MLEs as environments as a kind of educational Te Papa showcasing
the students’’ ability to ‘seek, use and create their own knowledge’ (New Zealand
Curriculum) integrating areas of the curriculum as appropriate. I imagine
an environment that

Displays to show student thinking

personalises
learning by celebrating students’ voice, choice and identity; an environment that taps students’ questions and concerns and explores
the real, man-made, natural and historical environs of the school; an environment that provides all students
with lifelong learning skills; an environment able to develops the imagination,
passions and talents of all students.

I imagine an
environment displaying learning similar to what is to be seen at
science, technology and maths fairs, art

Displays of student creativity

exhibitions and performances of the creative
arts; a place where the ICT is ubiquitous - all but invisible. All this
might mean is developing visual displays by printing selected work from student
electronic portfolios.

This paper addresses the issue of the new pedagogy,
which is central to the future agenda. The authors show that the new pedagogy is based on a learning
partnership between and among students and teachers that taps into the
intrinsic motivation of students and teachers alike. Crucially,
this new learning is heavily based in the “real world” of action and problem
solving, and it is enabled and
greatly accelerated by innovations in digital technology. These forces
converge to produce deep learning tasks
and outcomes.

Of course much of what the authors describe is not new at all. It
builds on a tradition going back through to Piaget, Vygotsky and other key
theorists.

‘The new pedagogies model promises to drive out of our schools the
boredom and alienation of students and teachers—an incredible waste when there is so much to learn. The next decade could be the most
transformative of any since the creation of factory-model schools 150 years ago.

Imagine a future were students and teachers can’t wait to get to the learning –
where indeed school never really leaves them because they are always learning.
We see the directional vision. We detect elements of it in reality. We can
taste the possibilities. It is a future that is distinctly possible to realise.
It will take the learning ingenuity of the many. It is a rich seam worth
opening.’